© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Queen Mary I of England; Credit – Wikipedia

November 17, 1558 – Death of Queen Mary I of England at St. James Palace in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
Mary was the only child of King Henry VIII of England and his first wife Catherine of Aragon to survive infancy. Upon the death of her half-brother King Edward VI of England in 1553, John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and Lord Protector of the Realm arranged for his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey, a great-granddaughter of King Henry VII of England, to be proclaimed Queen of England instead of Mary. Mary quickly assembled a force and deposed Jane, who was ultimately beheaded. Mary was 37 and needed to marry to produce an heir to supplant her Protestant sister, the future Queen Elizabeth I of England. In 1554, Mary married the future King Philip II of Spain but the couple had no children. Throughout her reign, Mary was steadfast in her determination to restore the Roman Catholic religion to England. Edward VI’s religious laws were abolished during the first Parliament of her reign. During Mary’s reign, nearly 300 Protestants were burned at the stake for heresy.  Mary had become weak and ill in May 1558, possibly from ovarian cysts or uterine cancer. In November 1558, Mary fell ill during an influenza outbreak and died at the age of 42. Mary had wanted to be buried with her mother at Peterborough Cathedral but was buried in Westminster Abbey in a vault she would eventually share with her Protestant sister Elizabeth.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Mary I of England

November 17, 1592 – Death of King Johan III of Sweden at Stockholm Castle in Stockholm, Sweden; buried at Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden
Johan was the eldest of the ten children of King Gustav I Vasa of Sweden and his second wife Margareta Leijonhufvud. In 1569, he became King of Sweden after a rebellion against his mentally ill half-brother King Eric XIV of Sweden.  Johan married Katarina Jagellonica of Poland and the couple had three children. During his reign, Johan III carried out extensive building projects. He participated personally in the planning of various buildings and provided his own architectural drawings. In 1570, Johan III ended the Nordic Seven Years War with Denmark and Sweden, a war his half-brother Erik had started. During the following years, Johan successfully fought Russia in the Livonian War and made a peace treaty with Russia. After the death of his first wife, Johan married Gunilla Bielke and they had one son. After a reign of twenty-three years, Johan died at the age of 54.
Unofficial Royalty: King Johan III of Sweden

November 17, 1729 – Birth of Maria Antonia of Spain, Queen of Sardinia, wife of Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia, at the Royal Alcázar in Seville, Spain
Maria Antonia was the daughter of Felipe V, King of Spain and his second wife Elisabeth Farnese of Parma. Her father was born Philippe of France, Duke of Anjou at the Palace of Versailles in France and was the grandson of King Louis XIV of France. In 1700, King Carlos II of Spain died childless with no immediate Habsburg heir. Philippe’s father Louis, Le Grand Dauphin had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain because his mother Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain had been the half-sister of Carlos II. However, neither Philippe’s father nor his elder brother Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Le Petite Dauphin could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne. Therefore, Carlos II, King of Spain, in his will, named 16-year-old Philippe of Anjou, Duke of Anjou as his successor.  In 1750, Maria Antonia married the future Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia and the couple had twelve children. Upon the death of her father-in-law Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia in 1773, Maria Antonia’s husband succeeded him as Vittorio Amedeo III.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Antonia of Spain, Queen of Sardinia

November 17, 1755 – Birth of King Louis XVIII of France at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France
Full name: Louis Stanislas Xavier
King Louis XVIII of France was born in 1755, during the reign of his grandfather King Louis XV of France. He was the son of Louis, Dauphin of France, and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, and the brother of King Louis XVI of France who was beheaded during the French Revolution.  In 1771, Louis married Princess Maria Giuseppina of Savoy, the daughter of the future King Vittorio Amadeo III of Sardinia and Infanta Maria Antonia of Spain. The marriage was far from loving, with Louis finding his bride ugly and repulsive. The couple had no children. During the French Revolution, Louis escaped France. In April 1814, following Napoleon’s overthrow, the French Senate restored the Bourbons to the French throne and Louis XVIII officially became King of France.
Unofficial Royalty: King Louis XVIII of France

November 17, 1769 – Birth of Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen, wife of the future Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, in Hanover, Electorate of Hanover, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Full name: Charlotte Georgine Luise Friederike
Charlotte was the eldest child of Carl II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Friederike of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her paternal aunt was Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III of the United Kingdom. In 1785, Charlotte married Friedrich, then the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The marriage was unhappy from the beginning, and Friedrich mostly ignored his wife who was far more intelligent than he was. Despite this, the couple had twelve children. Despite her husband’s disinterest, Charlotte became much loved by the people of Saxe-Hildburghausen. She gave generously to causes and charities that helped the poor and funded numerous programs that provided education and training to the less fortunate.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen

November 17, 1796 – Death of Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia; buried at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, Russia
Never destined at birth to be a monarch or even married to a monarch, Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike of Anhalt-Zerbst achieved both. She married Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich (born Carl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp), the grandson of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia, and the successor of his unmarried aunt Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia as Peter III, Emperor of All Russia. A conspiracy to overthrow Peter was planned and centered around the five Orlov brothers. After a reign of five months, Peter III was deposed, and died under circumstances that remain unclear, and his wife became Catherine II, Empress of All Russia, now known as Catherine the Great. During Catherine’s reign, Russia grew larger and stronger and was recognized as one of the great powers of Europe. Catherine died from a stroke at the age of 67 after a reign of 34 years.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia

November 17, 1818 – Death of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of the United Kingdom, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom, at Kew Palace in Surrey, England; buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
In 1761, Charlotte married George III, then King of Great Britain, later King of the United Kingdom. George and Charlotte’s marriage was a very happy one and George remained faithful to Charlotte. Between 1762 and 1783, Charlotte gave birth to fifteen children, all of whom survived childbirth. Only two of the children, who died from smallpox, did not survive childhood. The only disruption in the family’s domestic lives was George’s attacks of illness. We now know that he probably suffered from porphyria and his attacks severely worried Charlotte. Charlotte is the second longest-serving consort in British history. Only her descendant, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, served as a consort longer. Queen Charlotte died at the age of 74, at Kew Palace seated in a small armchair holding the hand of her eldest son, the future King George IV.
Unofficial Royalty: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of the United Kingdom

November 17, 1845 – Birth of Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, wife of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, and mother of King Albert I of the Belgians, at Schloss Sigmaringen in the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen now in Sigmaringen, Germany
Full name: Marie Luise Alexandrine Karoline
Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was one-half of the couple who secured the future of the Belgian royal dynasty. Marie was the daughter of Sovereign Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and the sister of the future King Carol I of Romania. In 1867, Marie married Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, the second surviving son of Leopold I of the Belgians. In 1869, ten-year-old Leopold, Duke of Brabant, the only son and heir of Philippe’s brother King Leopold II, fell into a pond, caught pneumonia, and died. Hoping for a crown prince because only males could inherit the throne, Leopold II and his wife had another child, but the child was a girl. Marie and Philippe’s elder son Baudouin was second in line to the throne until he died in 1891 from influenza. Then Marie and Philippe’s younger son Albert became second in line to the throne. Marie lived long enough to see her son Albert succeed his uncle King Leopold II as King Albert I in 1909.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Countess of Flanders

November 17, 1887 – Birth of Ernst August III of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick in Penzig, Austria
Full name: Ernst August Christian Georg
The son of Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover and Princess Thyra of Denmark, Ernst August was the last reigning Duke of Brunswick, abdicating on November 8, 1918. He was also the pretender to the throne of Hanover. In 1913, Ernst August married Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm II, German Emperor, King of Prussia. The wedding was one of the last large gatherings of European royalty before World War I began the following year, attended by 1,200 guests. The couple had five children. After his abdication in 1918, Ernst August and his family were able to remain in Hanover. He lived his remaining years at his various properties, including Cumberland Castle in Gmunden, Austria, Marienburg Castle in Hanover, Germany, and Blankenburg Castle in Harz, Germany.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August III of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick

November 17, 1905 – Birth of Astrid of Sweden, Queen of the Belgians, first wife of Leopold III, King of the Belgians, at the Hereditary Prince’s Palace in Stockholm, Sweden
Full name: Astrid Sofia Lovisa Thyra
Astrid was the daughter of Prince Carl of Sweden, Duke of Västergötland, and Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Through both of her parents, she was closely related to the Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian royal families. Her father was the son of King Oscar II of Sweden and the brother of King Gustav V of Sweden. Her mother was the daughter of King Frederik VIII of Denmark, and sister to King Christian X of Denmark and King Haakon VII of Norway. In 1926, Astrid married the future Leopold III, King of the Belgians. They were the parents of the two Belgian kings, Baudouin and Albert II, and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg.  In 1934, Astrid’s husband became King of the Belgians upon the death of his father. Astrid threw herself into her royal duties while continuing to raise her young family. Sadly, just a year later, Astrid was killed in a car crash.
Unofficial Royalty: Astrid of Sweden, Queen of the Belgians

November 17, 1905 – Death of Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders, son of King Leopold I and father of King Albert I of the Belgians, at the Palace of the Count of Flanders in Brussels, Belgium; buried at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken near Brussels, Belgium
Philippe was a younger son of Leopold I, King of the Belgians, and the ancestor of the current Belgian royal family as his son succeeded to the Belgian throne as King Albert I. In 1867, Philippe married Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and they had five children. It was Philippe and Marie who secured the future of the Belgian dynasty. Philippe was the heir presumptive to the Belgian throne until he died in 1905. Philippe’s elder son Baudouin was second in line to the throne until he died in 1891 from influenza. Then Philippe’s younger son Albert became second in line to the throne. Eventually, Albert succeeded his uncle, King Leopold II, upon his death in 1909 as King Albert I. Philippe led a comfortable life in the intimacy of his Brussels palace surrounded by his objets d’art, his superb horses, and especially his precious library of 30,000 books. He died at the age of 68.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Philippe of Belgium, Count of Flanders

November 17, 1905 – Death of Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg at his summer home Schloss Hohenburg in Lenggries, Kingdom of Bavaria, now Bavaria, Germany; buried at the burial chapel of Schloss Weilburg, the former residence of the House of Nassau and Dukes of Nassau-Weilburg, now in the German state of Hesse
Adolph was the son of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau whom he succeeded in 1839. Adolph’s first wife Grand Duchess Elisabeth Mikhailovna of Russia died in childbirth along with her child. Adolph married again to Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau. They had five children, but only two lived to adulthood including his successor Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In 1890, Adolphe became Grand Duke upon the accession of Queen Wilhelmina to the Dutch throne. The three previous kings of the Netherlands had also been Grand Dukes of Luxembourg. However, because Luxembourg did not allow female succession, Wilhelmina could not succeed to the throne of Luxembourg. 73-year-old Adolphe was a Protestant in a Catholic country and knew little about Luxembourg, so he left the governing to his prime minister. Adolph died at the age of 88.
Unofficial Royalty: Grand Duke Adolphe of Luxembourg

November 17, 1945 – Death of Friedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin at Glücksburg Castle in Germany, the home of his youngest daughter and her husband; buried in the New Cemetery in Glücksburg, Germany
Friedrich Franz became Grand Duke upon his father’s death in April 1897. Because he was still a minor, his uncle Duke Johann Albrecht, served as regent until Friedrich Franz came of age in 1901. Once he had taken control of his government, the young Grand Duke attempted to reform the Mecklenburg constitution. However, his efforts failed when the government of Mecklenburg-Strelitz refused to agree to his ideas. In 1904, he married Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland and they had five children. Friedrich Franz was the last Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, abdicating on November 14, 1918. Forced to leave Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  Friedrich Franz and his family traveled to Denmark at the invitation of his sister, Queen Alexandrine where they lived for a year, before being permitted to return to Mecklenburg, Germany, and recovering several of the family’s properties. At the end of World War II, with the advance of the Soviet Union’s Red Army, Friedrich Franz, his wife, and son Christian Ludwig, fled to Glücksburg Castle, in Glücksburg, Germany, the home of his youngest daughter and her husband, intending to return to Denmark. However, he became ill, and while under house arrest at Glücksburg  Castle, died at the age of 63.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich Franz IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

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Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, granddaughter of Queen Victoria; Credit – Wikipedia

November 16, 1093 – Death of Saint Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Scots, wife of Malcolm III, King of Scots, at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland; first buried at Dunfermline Abbey, Scotland. During the Scottish Reformation in 1560, Dunfermline Abbey was sacked and fell into disrepair.  Margaret’s remains, along with those of her husband, were transferred to a chapel in Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid, Spain by King Philip II of Spain but the location of the remains is now unknown.
Despite being called Saint Margaret of Scotland, Margaret was born an Anglo-Saxon princess around 1045 in Hungary.  Her father was Edward the Exile (also called Edward Ætheling), the son of King Edmund Ironside (King Edmund II). Margaret and her family returned to England in 1057. Following the death of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, her brother Edgar Ætheling was elected King of England but never crowned. After she and her family fled north, Margaret married Malcolm III, King of Scots by the end of 1070. The couple had eight children including three Kings of Scots and Edith who married King Henry I of England and is the ancestor of the British and other European royal families. In her private life, Margaret exhibited great piety. She had certain times of the day for prayer and reading the Bible. She ate sparingly and slept little to have time for prayers. In 1093, Margaret’s husband Malcolm and her eldest son Edward were killed at the Battle of Alnwick. Margaret was already ill when her husband and eldest son went off to battle. She died just three days after her husband and son’s death. Margaret was canonized as a saint in 1250 by Pope Innocent IV.
Unofficial Royalty: Saint Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Scots

November 16, 1272 – Death of King Henry III of England at the Palace of Westminster in London, England; buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England
King Henry III became king on October 18, 1216, at the age of nine, and reigned 56 years, 29 days, until he died in 1272. Only King George III, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth II have reigned longer. He was the first child of King John and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Angoulême, and named after King John’s father, King Henry II. In 1236,  Henry III married Eleanor of Provence and the couple had five children. The English barons became displeased with Henry III’s demands for extra funds, Henry’s methods of government, and widespread famine. This displeasure ultimately resulted in a civil war, the Second Barons’ War (1264–1267). Ultimately, authority was restored to King Henry III and severe retribution was exacted on the rebellious barons. Henry III’s most important legacy is Westminster Abbey. In 1042, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St. Peter’s Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church, the first Westminster Abbey. Construction of the second and present church was begun in 1245 by Henry III who selected the site for his burial. In 1269, Henry oversaw a grand ceremony to rebury Edward the Confessor in a magnificent new shrine, helping to carry the body to its new resting place. When Henry III died in 1272 at the age of 69, he was buried in the original coffin of Edward the Confessor. Eventually, a grander tomb was built for Henry, and in 1290, his remains were moved to their current location in Westminster Abbey in Edward the Confessor’s Chapel, in a tomb directly north of Edward the Confessor’s shrine.
Unofficial Royalty: King Henry III of England

November 16, 1632 – Death of King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden at the Battle of Lützen, near Lützen, Electorate of Saxony, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; buried at Riddarholmen Church in Stockholm, Sweden
Also known as Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden, he was officially given the name Gustavus Adolphus the Great by the Riksdag of the Estates, the legislature, in 1634, two years after he died in battle. Gustavus Adolphus is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and made Sweden a great power that would make it one of Europe’s largest and leading nations during the early modern period. In 1620, Gustavus Adolphus married Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. Although Gustavus Adolphus was successful in many endeavors, he was not successful in providing a male heir. His only surviving child was a daughter Christina, who succeeded her father. At the age of 37, Gustavus Adolphus died in the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years War.
Unofficial Royalty: King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden

November 16, 1673 – Birth of Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, favorite of Peter I, Emperor of All Russia, in Moscow, Russia
Alexander Danilovich Menshikov was a Russian statesman, military leader, boyhood friend, and a favorite of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia. In 1697, Peter I traveled incognito to Western Europe on an 18-month tour called the Grand Embassy and Alexander accompanied him. In the Netherlands, Peter I and Alexander studied shipbuilding, and those skills were later used to build the Russian Navy. They traveled to Manchester, England to learn the techniques of city-building which would later be used to found the city of St. Petersburg. Several times, in his various positions and situations, Alexander Menshikov abused his power even though he was well aware of the principles on which Peter I’s reforms were conducted and was Peter I’s right hand in all his endeavors. Alexander’s corrupt practices frequently brought him to the verge of ruin.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, favorite of Peter I, Emperor of All Russia

November 16, 1725 – Birth of Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont, wife of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, in Ribeauvillé, France
In 1741, Christiane Henriette married her first cousin, Karl August, the reigning Prince of Waldek-Pyrmont. The couple had seven children including two reigning Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Through Christiane Henriette, her children were the first cousins of Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse and by Rhine, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, and King Ludwig I of Bavaria. When Karl August died in 1763, he was succeeded by his son Friedrich Karl August. Christiane Henriette served as Regent of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont until Friedrich Karl August reached his majority. Christiane Henriette survived her husband by fifty-three years, dying on February 11, 1816, aged 90.
Unofficial Royalty: Christiane Henriette of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont

November 16, 1797 – Death of Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia at the Marble Palace in Potsdam, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany; buried at Berlin Cathedral in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, now in Brandenburg, Germany
Friedrich Wilhelm became King of Prussia in 1786, upon the death of his uncle, King Friedrich II, better known as Frederick the Great. He moved the Prussian court – for many years based in Potsdam – back to Berlin, and overturned many of his uncle’s policies. Friedrich Wilhlem’s patronage of the arts and work toward improving trade and transportation made him popular with the Prussian people. However, that popularity soon faded, when he began to impose consumption taxes on items such as sugar, flour, and beer. He also depleted the country’s treasury by overspending during military ventures and his personal building projects. Having been in ill health for some time, Friedrich Wilhelm II retreated to the Marble Palace in October 1797, where he limited his court to just a few close confidants, including his official mistress, Countess von Lichtenau. By early November, his health was rapidly declining, and he handed over his responsibilities to his son and heir. King Friedrich Wilhelm II died at the Marble Palace in Potsdam at the age of 53.
Unofficial Royalty: King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia

November 16, 1831 – Death of Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, wife of Franz Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, in Coburg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, now in Bavaria, Germany; buried in a mausoleum in the Coburg Court Garden
Augusta was the grandmother of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In 1777, she married Franz Friedrich Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The couple had nine children including Prince Albert’s father and Franz Friedrich Anton’s successor Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Queen Victoria’s mother Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and Victoria and Albert’s uncle Leopold, the future first King of the Belgians. Augusta may have been the first person to suggest a marriage between two of her grandchildren. In 1821, in a letter to her daughter Victoria, Duchess of Kent, she suggested the possibility of marriage between Victoria and Albert who were only two years old at the time. Augusta did not live long enough to see her grandchildren Victoria and Albert married. She died at the age of 74, five months after the election of her son Leopold as King of the Belgians.
Unofficial Royalty: Augusta of Reuss-Ebersdorf, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

November 16, 1836 – Birth of Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands, born David Laʻamea Kamanakapuʻu Māhinulani Nālaʻiaʻehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua, in the grass hut compound of his maternal grandfather at the base of Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Kingdom of Hawaii now in the state of Hawaii
Known for his patronage and the restoration of many Hawaiian cultural traditions, Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands from 1874 – 1891 was the first of the two monarchs of the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands from the House of Kalākaua. In 1863, Kalākaua married Kapiʻolani Napelakapuokakaʻe, the daughter of High Chief Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole of Hilo and High Chiefess Kinoiki Kekaulike of Kauaʻi, the daughter of King Kaumualiʻi, the last king of an independent Kauaʻi. Sadly, their marriage was childless. During David’s reign, the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875, a free trade agreement between the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands and the United States greatly benefitted Hawaii. The treaty gave free access to the United States market for sugar and other products grown in the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Unofficial Royalty: Kalākaua, King of the Hawaiian Islands

November 16, 1852 – Birth of Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg in Oldenburg, Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany
Friedrich August was the last Grand Duke of Oldenburg, abdicating on November 11, 1918. In 1878, he married Princess Elisabeth Anna of Prussia, and the couple had one surviving daughter. After his first wife died in 1895, Friedrich August, needing a male heir and a mother for his surviving daughter, married Elisabeth Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. They had five children. Friedrich August became Grand Duke of Oldenburg upon his father’s death in 1900. After his abdication, Friedrich August retired to Schloss Rastede where he took up farming. Claiming an “extremely precarious” financial situation, he petitioned the Oldenburg government for an annual allowance the year after his abdication.
Unofficial Royalty: Friedrich August II, Grand Duke of Oldenburg

November 16, 1878 – Death of Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at Neues Palais, Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany; buried at Mausoleum of Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt
Princess Marie, known as May, was the youngest child of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.  At the beginning of November 1878, diphtheria began to make its rounds in the Grand Ducal Family. Princess Marie fell ill on November 12, 1878, and sadly was the only one of the children not to recover, dying at the age of four. May’s death devastated her brother Ernst Ludwig. It was their mother Alice’s efforts to console him, with a hug and kiss, which led to her contracting the illness and passing away less than a month later.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine

November 16, 1907 – Death of Roberto I, Duke of Parma in Viareggio, Italy; buried at the Chapel of the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Italy
Roberto I was the last Duke of Parma. As a not-quite-six-year-old, he succeeded his assassinated father and then lost his throne five years later due to the Italian unification movement. Despite losing his throne, Roberto and his family had considerable wealth. They traveled in a private train of more than a dozen cars and had several residences. Roberto is known for having 24 children, 12 from each of his two marriages. Among his children are Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma who married Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria (later Tsar), Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma who married Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma who married Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg.
Unofficial Royalty: Roberto I, Duke of Parma

November 16, 1937 – Deaths of the Hesse and by Rhine Grand Ducal Family in an airplane crash near Ostend, Belgium; buried at Rosenhohe in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
On November 16, 1937, Hereditary Grand Duke Georg Donatus; his mother Eleonore, Dowager Grand Duchess; his wife Hereditary Grand Duchess Cecilie (the former Cecilie of Greece, sister of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh), and their sons Ludwig and Alexander boarded a flight for London to attend the wedding of Georg Donatus’s brother Prince Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine and The Honorable Margaret Geddes. Tragically, they all died in an airplane crash near Ostend, Belgium.
Unofficial Royalty: Deaths of the Grand Ducal Family of Hesse and by Rhine
Unofficial Royalty: Georg Donatus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
Unofficial Royalty: Cecilie of Greece, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine
Unofficial Royalty: Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine

November 16, 1939 – Death of Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma at the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Kingdom of Italy; buried in the chapel at the Villa Borbone in Viareggio, Italy
Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma was the titular Duke of Parma from 1907 until he died in 1939. As he was mentally disabled, his younger brother Elia served as regent.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Enrico of Bourbon-Parma, Titular Duke of Parma

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France; Credit – Wikipedia

November 15, 1498 – Birth of Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France, wife of King Manuel I of Portugal and second wife of King François I of France, in Leuven, Spanish Netherlands, now in Belgium
Eleanor was the eldest of the six children of Philip (the Handsome), Duke of Burgundy and Joanna, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon. Her two brothers were Kings and Holy Roman Emperors and Eleanor and her three sisters were all Queen Consorts  In 1518, 19-year-old Eleanor became Queen of Portugal when she married 49-year-old Manuel I.  The couple had one surviving daughter. After Manuel’s death from the plague in 1521, Eleanor remained unmarried for nine years. To seal a treaty between the Holy Roman Empire and France, François I, King of France, a widower for several years, agreed to marry Eleanor, the sister of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Eleanor and François were married in 1530. Eleanor was ignored by François I who preferred his mistresses. Eleanor and François had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Queen of France

November 15, 1527 – Death of Catherine of York, Countess of Devon, daughter of King Edward IV of England, wife of William Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, at Tiverton Castle in Devon, England; buried at Tiverton Church in Devon, England
In 1495, sixteen-year-old Catherine married twenty-year-old William Courtenay, son and heir of Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, a strong supporter of the then-current monarch, King Henry VII, and they had three children. After her marriage, Catherine remained close to her eldest sister Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VII. She attended the wedding of her eldest nephew Arthur, Prince of Wales and Catherine of Aragon in November 1501, and the betrothal of her eldest niece Margaret Tudor to James IV, King of Scots in January 1502. After the death of her husband in 1511, Catherine took a vow of celibacy and was rarely at court. One of her few appearances at court was in 1516 for the christening of her great-niece, Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon’s daughter, the future Queen Mary I of England, at which Catherine was the godmother. Catherine of York died on November 15, 1527, at Tiverton Castle in Tiverton, Devon, England, aged 48.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine of York, Countess of Devon

November 15, 1799 – Birth of Maria Anna of Saxony, first wife of Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony
Full name: Maria Anna Carolina Josepha Vincentia Xaveria Nepomucena Franziska de Paula Franziska de Chantal Johanna Antonia Elisabeth Cunigunde Gertrud Leopoldina
In 1817, Maria Anna married the future Leopoldo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The couple had three daughters. Maria Anna and her husband were the founding patrons of L’Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata, the first female boarding school in Florence to educate aristocratic and noble young ladies. The school is still in existence. Maria Anna’s inability to produce a male heir caused depression which coupled with her chronic ill health, made her developing tuberculosis more severe.  On March 24, 1832, 32-year-old Maria Anna died.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Anna of Saxony, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

November 15, 1801 – Death of Maria Clementina of Austria, Duchess of Calabria, first wife of the future Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies, in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, now in Italy; buried at the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples
Maria Clementina was one of the sixteen children of Pietro Leopoldo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany (later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor) and Maria Luisa of Spain. In 1797, Maria Clementina married the future Francesco I, King of the Two Sicilies. The couple had a son and a daughter but only their daughter survived. Maria Clementina and Francesco had a loving and happy but short marriage. She died from tuberculosis, at the age of 24, before Francesco became King of the Two Sicilies. Her infant son had died four months earlier.
Unofficial Royalty: Maria Clementina of Austria, Duchess of Calabria

November 15, 1828 – Death of Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, Queen of Saxony, wife of King Friedrich August I of Saxony, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in Saxony, Germany; buried at Dresden Cathedral
1769, Amalie married Friedrich August III, Elector of Saxony. Amalie and her husband had one surviving daughter. In 1806, Amalie became the first Queen of Saxony when the Electorate of Saxony was elevated to a Kingdom, and her husband assumed the throne as King Friedrich August I. Amalie’s husband died in May 1827 and was succeeded by his younger brother, Anton. Amalie survived her husband by a year and a half, dying at the age of 73.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalie of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, Queen of Saxony

November 15, 1853 – Death of Queen Maria II of Portugal in childbirth at Necessidades Palace in Lisbon, Portugal; buried at the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
In 1835, Maria II married Auguste de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg but he died two months later. A year later, she married Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a first cousin of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her husband Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The couple had eleven children. Maria II faced problems in giving birth with prolonged and extremely difficult labors. By the time she was 25-years-old, Maria was obese and the births became even more complicated. The combination of many successive pregnancies, her obesity which eventually caused her heart problems, and the prolonged, difficult labors led doctors to warn Maria about the serious risks she would face in future pregnancies. Maria replied, “If I die, I die at my post.”  Maria II at the age of 34 after giving birth to a stillborn son.
Unofficial Royalty: Queen Maria II of Portugal

November 15, 1863 – Death of King Frederik VII of Denmark in Glücksburg, Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, now in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein; buried at Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark
In 1828, Frederik married Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark, the younger of the two daughters of the reigning King of Denmark, Frederik VI. The marriage was childless and unhappy, mostly due to Frederik’s affairs and drinking. The couple separated in 1834 and divorced in 1837. Frederik married again in 1841 to Caroline Mariane of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Once again, the marriage was childless and unhappy. In 1844, Caroline Mariane visited her parents and refused to return to Denmark. The couple divorced in 1846. In 1848, Frederik succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father. Two years later, he married his third wife Louise Rasmussen, a ballerina and stage actress. Frederik began a relationship with Louise during the 1840s. As this was a morganatic marriage, Louise was not Queen of Denmark. Instead, she was given the title Countess Danner. Frederik and Louise did not have any children.  King Frederik VII of Denmark died from erysipelas, a bacterial skin infection, at the age of 55.
Unofficial Royalty: King Frederik VII of Denmark

November 15, 1889 – Birth of King Manuel II of Portugal at Belém Palace in Lisbon, Portugal
Full name: Manuel Maria Filipe Carlos Amélio Luís Miguel Rafael Gabriel Gonzaga Xavier Francisco de Assis Eugénio
King Manuel II of Portugal was the last Portuguese monarch, reigning just two and a half years before Portugal was declared a republic. On February 1, 1908, the royal family was attacked by assassins while riding in a carriage en route to the palace. Manuel was shot only in the arm, but his father King Carlos I of Portugal was shot in the head, dying instantly, and his elder brother Luís Filipe, Prince Royal was also mortally injured and died several minutes later. At just 18 years old, Manuel became the last King of Portugal.
Unofficial Royalty: King Manuel II of Portugal

November 15, 1895 – Birth of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia, daughter of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia, at Tsarskoe Selo, Russia
Olga was the eldest of the five daughters and the eldest of the six children of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. Because Olga reached her teens before World War I, there was talk about marriage for her. The most serious talk was for a marriage between Olga and Prince Carol of Romania (the future King Carol II), the son of King Ferdinand I of Romania and Queen Marie, born a British princess and a first cousin of Olga’s mother. During a visit in 1914 to Romania, Olga did not like Carol, while Carol’s mother Queen Marie was unimpressed with Olga. Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) and Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (the future King Alexander I of Yugoslavia) were also mentioned as potential husbands. Olga wanted to marry a Russian and remain in her own country. When World War I started, any marriage talk was postponed.
Unofficial Royalty: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, Grand Duchesses of Russia

November 15, 1956 – Death of Elisabetha of Romania, Queen of Greece, wife of King George II of Greece, in Cannes, France; buried at the Hedinger Church in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Elisabeth was a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria through her mother Princess Marie of Edinburgh. In 1921, she married the future King George II of Greece. George and Elisabeth had no children, and would eventually divorce in 1935. After her divorce, Elisabeth petitioned to have her Romanian citizenship restored (she had relinquished it upon her marriage), and through very shrewd investments the booming Romanian economy, managed to become financially well-off. She devoted much of her time to charity, working with many organizations to help children and those who were ill. At her own expense, Elisabetha established a hospital and children’s home in Bucharest, Romania. After her nephew King Mihai was forced to abdicate in 1947, the Romanian royal family left Romania. After staying briefly in Sigmaringen, Germany, and in Zurich, Elisabeth eventually settled in Cannes, France where she leased an apartment and later taught piano lessons. She died in Cannes at the age of 62.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabetha of Romania, Queen of Greece

November 15, 1977 – Death of Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois, daughter of Prince Louis II of Monaco and his mistress Marie Juliette Louvet, in Paris, France; buried at the Chapelle de la Paix (Chapel of Peace) in Monaco
Charlotte began life as Charlotte Louise Juliette Louvet, the illegitimate daughter of the future Prince Louis II of Monaco and Marie Juliette Louvet. Her parents had met the previous year in Paris, where Marie worked as a hostess in a nightclub. Because Louis was unmarried and without an heir, the Monegasque throne was likely to pass to his first cousin once removed Wilhelm, the Duke of Urach, a German nobleman who was the son of his father’s aunt Princess Florestine of Monaco. In 1918, a law was passed allowing for the adoption of an heir with succession rights. In 1919, Louis legally adopted Charlotte, giving her the Grimaldi surname. Her grandfather Prince Albert I created her HSH Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois. Upon Louis’ accession in 1922, Charlotte became the Hereditary Princess of Monaco. In 1920, Charlotte married Count Pierre de Polignac, and the couple had two children including the future Prince Rainer III. By 1925, Charlotte and Pierre were living separate lives and formally divorced in 1933. Charlotte knew the very Catholic Monaco would never fully accept her. In 1944, Charlotte renounced her succession rights to the Monegasque throne in 1944 in favor of her son Rainier. She died in 1977 at the age of 79.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Charlotte of Monaco, Duchess of Valentinois

November 15, 1977 – Birth of Peter Phillips, son of Anne, Princess Royal and her first husband Mark Philipps, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, England
Full name: Peter Mark Andrew
Peter is the eldest of the eight grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. In 2008, he married Canadian Autumn Kelly. The couple had two daughters, the first two great-grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II, and both have dual citizenship, making them the first Canadians in the line of succession to the British throne. On February 11, 2020, Peter and Autumn Phillips announced their intention to divorce. They had separated in 2019. The divorce of Peter and Autumn Phillips became final on June 14, 2021.
Unofficial Royalty: Peter Phillips

November 15, 2024 – Death of Yuriko, Princess Mikasa of Japan, wife of Prince Mikasa of Japan, at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, Japan
Princess Mikasa was the wife of the late Prince Mikasa, the youngest son of Emperor Taishō, the brother of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), and the uncle of Emperor Akihito. Prince and Princess Mikasa had three sons and two daughters. All three sons predeceased their parents. Princess Mikasa’s husband died in 2016, at the age of 100, a little more than a month before his 101st birthday. At the time of his death, he was the world’s oldest royal and the longest-lived member of the Japanese Imperial Family. Five days before Prince Mikasa’s death, he and his wife celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in his hospital room. Princess Mikasa survived her husband by eight years, dying of old age, on November 15, 2024, at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo, Japan aged 101.
Unofficial Royalty: Princess Mikasa of Japan

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Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies; Credit – Wikipedia

November 14, 1567 – Birth of Maurits, Prince of Orange at Castle Dillenburg, the ancestral seat of the Orange branch of the House of Nassau now in Hesse, Germany 
Maurits was the only surviving son and the fourth of the five children of Willem I (the Silent), Prince of Orange and his second wife Anna of Saxony. In 1618, Maurits succeeded his childless half-brother Filip Willem. Maurits never married but he did have a number of illegitimate children.
Unofficial Royalty: Maurits, Prince of Orange

November 14, 1650 – Birth of Willem III, Prince of Orange, later King William III of England, at Binnenhof Palace in The Hague, the Dutch Republic now in the Netherlands
William was the only child of Willem II, Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and Mary, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England. William’s father died at age 24 of smallpox eight days before William’s birth, so from birth, William was the sovereign Prince of Orange. In 1677, William married his first cousin Mary, the elder surviving daughter of James, Duke of York, later King James II of England/James VII of Scotland. William followed Mary and her sister Anne in the line of succession to the English throne. In 1688, Mary’s father King James II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution and Mary and her husband William became joint sovereigns as King William III and Queen Mary II. The couple had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: King William III of England, Prince of Orange

November 14, 1687 – Death of Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II of England, in London, England; buried at the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, England
Nell was an orange girl in the theater, selling fruit and sweetmeats within the theater. She later became an actress. The affair between Nell and King Charles II began in April 1668 when Nell was attending a performance at Lincoln’s Inn Fields Theater. Charles II was in the next box and was more interested in flirting with Nell than watching the play. Charles II invited Nell and her escort to supper, along with his brother the Duke of York. Charles and Nell had one surviving son, Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans. The descendants of Nell and King Charles II have continued the line of the Dukes of St. Albans through the centuries. Nell remained one of Charles II’s mistresses until he died in 1685. On his deathbed, Charles remembered Nell when he told his brother James to look after his mistresses: “Let not poor Nelly starve.” King James II eventually paid most of Nell’s debts and gave her an annual pension of £1,500. In March 1687, Nell suffered a stroke, probably due to the effects of syphilis, that left her paralyzed on one side. Two months later, a second stroke left her confined to her bed. After suffering a third stroke, Nell died at the age of 37. Her funeral took place in a packed St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London, where she was also buried, with many more mourners lining the streets outside the church.
Unofficial Royalty: Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II of England

November 14, 1734 – Death of Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, mistress of King Charles II of England, in Paris, France; buried at the Church of the Carmelite Convent in Paris, France
Louise Renée de Penancoet de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth and King Charles II of England are the ancestors of Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, Diana, Princess of Wales,  and Sarah, Duchess of York. In 1669, her parents arranged for her to be placed in the household of Henriette-Anne, Duchess of Orléans, at the Palace of Versailles, hoping Louise would catch the eye of King Louis XIV of France and become a royal mistress. In January 1670, Louise accompanied Henriette-Anne on a diplomatic mission to her brother King Charles II at Dover Castle in England. King Louis XIV hoped Louise would catch the eye of his first cousin King Charles II and then there would be a French mistress at the English court. When the diplomatic mission was completed, Henriette-Anne offered her brother his choice of jewelry from her jewelry box which Louise handed to her. Placing his hand on Louise’s hand, Charles is reputed to have said: “This is the only jewel I want!” Louise and Charles II had one child, Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox.  Louise held on to the title of official mistress until the end of King Charles II’s life in 1685. The generous pension that Charles II had given her was rescinded in 1688 following the Glorious Revolution that deposed King James II and placed his daughter Queen Mary II and his nephew and Mary’s husband King William III upon the throne. Louise returned to France where King Louis XIV of France and King Louis XV  provided Louise with a pension and protected her against her creditors. Louise died in Paris, France, aged 85.
Unofficial Royalty: Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, mistress of King Charles II of England

November 14, 1812 – Birth of Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies, first wife of Ferdinando II, King of the Two Sicilies, in Cagliari, on the island of Sardinia, now in Italy
Full name: Maria Cristina Carlotta Giuseppa Gaetana Efisia
Maria Cristina was the daughter of Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia and Maria Theresa of Austria-Este. In 1832, she married Ferdinando II, King of Two Sicilies. Maria Cristina was shy, modest, reserved, and a very devout Catholic. During the short time that she was Queen of the Two Sicilies, Maria Cristina prevented the carrying out of all death sentences. She was called “the Holy Queen” for her deep religious devotion. She endured her nearly constant illnesses with patience and piety and was popular with the people for her charity, modesty, and humility. On January 21, 1836, five days after giving birth to her only child, the future Francesco II, King of the Two Sicilies, 23-year-old Maria Cristina died from childbirth complications. In 1859, a cause for the canonization of Maria Cristina as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church was opened. In 1872, Maria Cristina was declared a Servant of God and in 1937, she was declared a Venerable Servant of God. In 2013, Pope Francis authorized a decree recognizing a miracle due to her intercession and approved Maria Cristina’s beatification. She is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy and is one step away from canonization as a saint. On January 25, 2014, the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples, Italy, the burial site of Maria Cristina, was the site of her beatification ceremony. Several thousand people attended the ceremony including the two branches of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
Unofficial Royalty: Blessed Maria Cristina of Savoy, Queen of the Two Sicilies

November 14, 1847 – Birth of Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Yurievskaya, morganatic second wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia, in Moscow, Russia
Princess Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova, Princess Catherine Dolgorukov in English, was first the mistress and then the second and morganatic wife of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. In 1880, six weeks after the death of his wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna from tuberculosis, Alexander II made a morganatic marriage with Catherine. This marriage caused a scandal in the Imperial Family and violated Russian Orthodox rules regarding the waiting period for remarriage following the death of a spouse. Alexander granted his new wife the title of Princess Yurievskaya and legitimized their four children who were then styled Prince/Princess. On March 13, 1881, Emperor Alexander was assassinated when a bomb was thrown into his carriage. Shortly after Alexander’s funeral, Catherine left Russia forever. She moved to France and, in 1888, settled in Nice on the French Riviera. where she died on February 15, 1922, at the age of 74, forgotten and ignored, her obituary only three lines long.
Unofficial Royalty: Catherine Dolgorukov, Princess Yurievskaya

November 14, 1854 – Birth of Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, Queen Victoria’s Acting Mistress of the Robes 1883–1885 and 1892–1895 and Lady of the Bedchamber 1897–1901, on Lower Brook Street in Mayfair, London, England
Born Lady Anne Spencer-Churchill, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, she married James Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburghe.
Unofficial Royalty: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe

November 14, 1866 – Death of the former King Miguel I of Portugal in exile in Bronnbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg; buried first in the Engelberg Monastery in Grossheubach, Kingdom of Bavaria; reburied in 1967 in the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora in Lisbon, Portugal
Miguel was the son of King João VI of Portugal who reigned until he died in 1826. At that time, João VI’s elder son succeeded to the throne as King Pedro IV. Pedro was king for only two months, abdicating in favor of his daughter Queen Maria II of Portugal. Maria Antonia’s father Miguel served as regent for his niece Maria II. As regent, Miguel claimed the Portuguese throne in his own right. This led to a difficult political situation, during which many people were killed, imprisoned, persecuted, or sent into exile, finally culminating in the Portuguese Liberal Wars. Ultimately, Miguel was deposed in 1834 and lived his last thirty-two years in exile. In 1851, Miguel married Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, and the couple had six daughters and a son. Through the marriages of their many children and grandchildren, Miguel and his wife Adelaide are the ancestors of the current monarchs of Luxembourg, Belgium, and Liechtenstein, as well as pretenders to the thrones of Portugal, Austria, Bavaria, and Italy. Miguel died while hunting at the age of 64.
Unofficial Royalty: King Miguel II of Portugal

November 14, 1893 – Birth of Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg
Full name: Georg Philipp Albrecht Carl Maria Joseph Ludwig Lubertus Stanislaus Leopold
Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg was Head of the House of Württemberg, and pretender to the former throne, from 1939 until he died in 1975.
Unofficial Royalty: Philipp Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg

November 14, 1923 – Death of Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austria; buried in the mausoleum at Schloss Cumberland in Gmunden, Austria
The only son of King Georg V of Hanover, Ernst August was the last Crown Prince of Hanover and was the last to hold the British Dukedoms of Cumberland and Teviotdale. Ernst August became Crown Prince of Hanover upon his father’s accession in November 1851. However, in 1866, Hanover was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia. The family went into exile in Austria but spent much of their time in Paris. In 1878, Ernst August married Princess Thyra of Denmark, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and the couple had six children. Upon his father’s death in June 1878, Ernst August inherited his titles, becoming the 3rd Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale, and Earl of Armagh in the United Kingdom, and became head of the House of Hanover. He was also made a Knight of the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, his father’s first cousin. However, Ernst August was removed from the roll of the Order of the Garter in 1915, and in 1917 was stripped of his title of Prince of the United Kingdom. As a result of the Titles Deprivation Act, in 1919 he was stripped of his British peerages for bearing arms against Great Britain during World War I. The titles – Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale – remain in abeyance, and his direct descendants could petition to have them restored. To date, no such petition has been made.
Unofficial Royalty: Ernst August II, Crown Prince of Hanover

November 14, 1935 – Birth of King Hussein I of Jordan in Amman, Jordan
King Hussein of Jordan was one of the most important figures in the Middle Eastern region. His efforts for peace in the region earned him the respect of millions around the world. His father King Talal suffered from mental illness and was forced to abdicate in 1952 after a reign of only one year. The 16-year-old Hussein became King of Jordan with a regency council established until he reached the age of 18. King Hussein had four marriages and a total of eleven children. After a battle with lymphatic cancer, King Hussein died in 1999 and was succeeded by his son King Abdullah II.
Unofficial Royalty: King Hussein I of Jordan

November 14, 1948 – Birth of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, at Buckingham Palace in London, England
Full name: Charles Philip Arthur George
Upon the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, Charles succeeded to the throne as King Charles III of the United Kingdom. King Charles III is the first British monarch to be descended from two children of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. All monarchs after Queen Victoria have been descendants of her eldest son and heir King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Through his father, Charles is also a descendant of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the second daughter and third child of Queen Victoria.
Unofficial Royalty: King Charles III of the United Kingdom

November 14, 1973 – Wedding of Princess Anne of the United Kingdom and Captain Mark Phillips at Westminster Abbey in London, England
It was through their mutual love of horses that Mark Phillips met Princess Anne. The couple first met at the equestrian events during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City where Mark was a reserve member of the British equestrian team. The couple became engaged in April 1973  at the Badminton Horse Trials, the major equestrian event in the United Kingdom, in which both Anne and Mark competed. Buckingham Palace announced their engagement on May 29, 1973.  The couple had one son and one daughter. Princess Anne and Mark Phillips separated in 1989 and their divorce was finalized in 1992. Both Anne and Mark remarried.
Unofficial Royalty: Wedding of Princess Anne of the United Kingdom and Captain Mark Phillips

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© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Sophia Dorothea of Celle, Electoral Princess of Hanover; Credit – Wikipedia

November 13, 1312 – Birth of King Edward III of England at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England
King Edward III of England is considered one of the important English rulers of the Middle Ages. After the disastrous reign of his father King Edward II, Edward made his kingdom into one of the most organized military powers in Europe. In 1328, Edward III married Philippa of Hainault. The couple had fourteen children. Their sons married into the English nobility, and their descendants later battled for the throne in the Wars of the Roses. Edward’s main preoccupation during his 50-year reign was his claim to the French throne which started the Hundred Years War. The hero of these battles was Edward III’s eldest son and heir, Edward, Prince of Wales, who has come to be known as the Black Prince. The Black Prince died at the age of 45, probably of dysentery, in 1376, a year before his father died, and his son succeeded his grandfather as King Richard II.
Unofficial Royalty: King Edward III of England

November 13, 1717 – Birth of Prince George William of Great Britain, son of King George II of Great Britain, at St. James’ Palace in London, England
Little Prince George William lived from November 13, 1717 – February 17, 1718, three months and four days, but an event in his short life caused a huge family argument. The principals in the argument were George William’s grandfather King George I of Great Britain and his father The Prince of Wales, the future King George II of Great Britain. It was the beginning of the battles between fathers and sons that would plague the House of Hanover.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince George William of Great Britain

November 13, 1726 – Death of Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the divorced wife of King George I of Great Britain, after 32 years of imprisonment at Castle of Ahlden in Principality of Celle now in Lower Saxony, Germany; buried at Stadtkirche St. Marien in Celle
The marriage between first cousins Sophia Dorothea and George, the future King George I of Great Britain, was happy at first, but soon they both found affection elsewhere. George fell in love with one of his mother’s ladies-in-waiting, Melusine von der Schulenburg.  Sophia Dorothea fell in love with a Swedish Count, Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, an officer in the Hanoverian army. Despite warnings, from her mother and friends, Sophia Dorothea and her lover wrote letters to each other, met secretly, and planned to escape Hanover together. On the morning of July 2, 1694, after a meeting with Sophia Dorothea, von Königsmarck disappeared from Leineschloss Castle in Hanover and was never seen again. It was widely believed that George ordered von Königsmarck’s death. A tribunal of judges and Lutheran Church officials declared the marriage of George and Sophia Dorothea dissolved on the grounds of Sophia Dorothea’s desertion. Because she was considered the guilty party, Sophia Dorothea was not allowed to remarry, would never again see her children, and would be kept in captivity at the Castle of Ahlden for the last 32 years of her life. Sophia Dorothea suffered a stroke in August 1726 and never again left her bed. She refused medical attention and food and died at the age of 60. King George I would not allow mourning at the British court and was furious when he learned that his daughter, who had married King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, had ordered court mourning in Prussia.
Unofficial Royalty: Sophia Dorothea of Celle

November 13, 1801 – Birth of Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia, wife of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Elisabeth Ludovika was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Princess Caroline of Baden. She was the twin sister of Amalie Auguste below. In 1823, Elisabeth Ludovika married the future King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, after four years of negotiations regarding religion. Friedrich Wilhelm was required to be Lutheran, while Elisabeth Ludovika was Catholic. Eventually, it was agreed that she could retain her religion with the expectation that she would eventually convert. She did convert, but not until 1830. Other than a stillborn child born early in their marriage, the couple had no children.
Unofficial Royalty: Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria, Queen of Prussia

November 13, 1801 – Birth of Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony, wife of King Johann of Saxony, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany
Amalie Auguste was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife Princess Caroline of Baden. She was the twin sister of Elisabeth Ludovika above. In 1822, Amalie Auguste married the future King Johann of Saxony. Their marriage was a happy one, and the couple had nine children including two Kings of Saxony. Amalie Auguste’s husband became the heir presumptive to the Saxony throne in 1836, when King Anton died and was succeeded by Johann’s elder brother, King Friedrich August II. Amalie Auguste and her husband were close with the King and his wife Maria Anna, who was Amalie Auguste’s younger sister, and the two women worked together to support numerous charities and institutions.
Unofficial Royalty: Amalie Auguste of Bavaria, Queen of Saxony

November 13, 1810 – Death of Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, wife of King Louis XVIII of France, in exile at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire, England; first buried at  in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London, England, a year later reinterred at the Cathedral of Cagliari in Sardinia, Italy
Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy was the wife of King Louis XVIII of France, although he did not become King until after her death, during the Bourbon Restoration. The couple married in 1771 but had no children. In June 1795, Marie Joséphine’s husband became the titular King of France following the death of the only surviving son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. However, as the French monarchy had been abolished years earlier, the two remained in exile as Count and Countess of Provence. They continued living in different parts of Europe before moving to England in 1808, taking up residence at Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire, England. Marie Joséphine died at Hartwell House at the age of 57.
Unofficial Royalty: Marie Josephine Louise of Savoy, Countess of Provence

November 13, 1848 – Birth of Albert I, Prince of Monaco in Paris, France
Full name: Albert Honoré Charles
Albert was the only child of Prince Charles III of Monaco and Antoinette de Merode. He made an unsuccessful marriage to Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton, daughter of William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton and Princess Marie Amélie of Baden. The couple had one child, the future Prince Louis II of Monaco. Their marriage was annulled by the Catholic Church. In 1889, upon the death of his father, Albert became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. The following month, he married the Dowager Duchess de Richelieu, born Marie Alice Heine in New Orleans, Louisiana. The marriage was childless. Besides being the Sovereign Prince of Monaco, Albert I left an interesting legacy. He was a pioneer of oceanography and founded the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. His interest in the origins of man caused him to found the Institute for Human Paleontology in Paris, which conducted many archeological digs. Because of his quest for world peace, the prince founded the International Institute for Peace, a predecessor of the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Unofficial Royalty: Albert I, Prince of Monaco

November 13, 1856 – Death of Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen at Waldleiningen Castle in  Mörschenhardt, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; buried in Amorbach Abbey until 1866, when his remains were moved to Waldleiningen Castle
Karl was the maternal half-brother of Queen Victoria. At the age of ten, Karl became Prince of Leiningen upon his father’s death in 1814. However, in 1806, the Principality of Leiningen had been mediatized – annexed to another state(s), while allowing certain rights to its former sovereign. The Principality of Leiningen ceased to exist and was divided between the Grand Duchy of Baden, the Kingdom of Bavaria, and the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The family retained Amorbach Abbey in Amorbach, which remains the family seat of the Princes of Leiningen. Karl suffered a severe apoplectic attack in 1855 which greatly affected his health. A second attack the following year proved fatal. Karl died at the age of 52 with his sister Feodora of Leiningen, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg by his bedside.
Unofficial Royalty: Karl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen

November 13, 1907 – Birth of Giovanna of Italy, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria, wife of Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, in Rome, Italy
Full name: Giovanna Elisabetta Antonia Romana Maria
Giovanna was the daughter of King Vittorio Emanuele III of Italy and Princess Elena of Montenegro. In 1930, she married Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria. The couple had two children including Tsar Simeon III who succeeded his father and later as Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha), served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005 and as party leader until 2009. After the Soviet invasion and the abolition of the monarchy in the 1940s, the family lived in exile. In 1993, following the fall of the communist regime, Giovanna made a memorable visit to Bulgaria, on the 50th anniversary of her husband’s death.
Unofficial Royalty: Giovanna of Italy, Tsaritsa of Bulgaria

November 13, 1929 – Death of Princess Viktoria of Prussia, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, at the Hospital of St. Francis in Bonn, Germany; buried at Schloss Friedrichshof, Kronberg im Taunus, Germany
Princess Viktoria, known in the family as Moretta, was the daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal and Friedrich III, German Emperor, King of Prussia. In 1890, she married Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe. Moretta suffered a miscarriage early in the marriage and the couple never had children.  After Adolf’s death, she made a controversial marriage to Alexander Zoubkov, a Russian refugee described as a “dancer”, who was 35 years younger and carelessly spent her money. Moretta was forced to sell the contents of Palais Schaumburg, her home in Bonn, Germany, but the sale did not net much money and she moved into a single furnished room in the Bonn suburb of Mehlem. In 1929, Moretta announced that she was divorcing her second husband but she died of pneumonia a few days later at the age of 63.
Unofficial Royalty: Viktoria of Prussia, Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, Mrs. Zoubkoff

November 13, 1943 – Birth of Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, second wife of Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia, pretender to the Serbian throne, born Katherine Clairy Batis in Athens, Greece
Katherine is the second wife of Alexander, Crown Prince of Serbia, the last heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the current pretender to the throne of Serbia. She was previously married to Jack Andrews and has two children from that marriage. Katherine and Alexander have no children but Katherine is the stepmother to Alexander’s three sons from his first marriage to Princess Maria da Gloria of Orléans Bragança. Katherine spends much time working with charitable organizations.
Unofficial Royalty: Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia

November 13, 1989 – Death of Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein at a hospital in Grabs, Switzerland; buried in the Princely Crypt at St. Florian Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Franz Josef was named after Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria who was his mother’s paternal uncle and his godfather. In 1938, Franz Joseph succeeded his childless great-uncle Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein. Franz Josef was the first sovereign prince to live full-time in the principality and made his home at Vaduz Castle. In 1943, Franz Joseph married Countess Georgina von Wilczek. The couple had five children including the current Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adam II. In 1984, Franz Josef II handed over most of his powers to his son Hans-Adam. His wife Princess Gina died on October 18, 1989, at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer. She had once said. “My husband and I have become one. Everyone believes we are not able to exist without the other.” Only 26 days after the death of his wife, Prince Franz Josef II died at the age of 83.
Unofficial Royalty: Prince Franz Josef II of Liechtenstein

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